How to be able to sleep peacefully in pregnancy in the ninth month and even earlier is perhaps one of the biggest doubts that expectant mothers have.
Sleeping well, especially in the last few weeks, can be a mirage: on the one hand you fight back pain and the size of the belly, on the other you have to think about the safety of the baby.
Finding a way to rest for a few hours can be complicated even at the beginning of gestation, when nausea or heartburn occurs.
It is not only the positions and the quality of pillows and mattresses that must be considered (an orthopedic mattress can really be an ally against back pain), but also the diet and the temperature of the room.
Pregnancy involves hormonal changes, weight gain and, often, the craving for strange foods at the most unexpected hours of the day and night, and sleep tends to suffer from these conditions. This is why it would be important not to satisfy the strangest cravings, especially if they are nocturnal.
The diet of the pregnant woman must be balanced and include all the necessary macro and micronutrients: a good supply of magnesium and vitamin B is very important, very useful for counteracting cramps, which often arise during the night and to promote physiological relaxation, without forgetting that they are essential for regulating the sleep-wake rhythm.
Another important factor is the temperature. The expectant mother suffers from the heat much more than usual, so a cool environment is needed, especially if the pregnancy is in the summer. An air conditioner would be preferable to the classic fan, which creates harmful air currents that can cause colds and cooling problems, which cannot be cured except with paracetamol.
Furthermore, it is necessary that the bedroom has a variable humidity between 20 and 60%, depending on the temperature.
Now let’s see some useful tips and tricks to rest well:
The most comfortable positions and their advantages
In reality, the comfort of the position also depends a lot on how you usually sleep. Everyone has a favorite position, the one that makes us fall asleep and that often accompanies us until we wake up. Very often, for example, lying prone, or on the stomach, is an excellent remedy for insomnia, but it is the only position that a future mother cannot adopt.
Let’s first make a division into quarters, because the ideal position can vary according to the passage of time.
Usually in the first few months , pregnancy symptoms include heartburn and frequent nausea; to counter them, the solution is to try to stay lying on the left side, avoiding the right. Putting itself in this way, in fact, the stomach tends to move, going to assume a position that allows gastric emptying, making us digest more easily and allowing to mitigate heartburn and nausea; the latter can also be helped by drinking ice water in very small sips, thus allowing the ice to act on the vomiting center, immediately calming the symptom.
If we are among the lucky ones who do not have pregnancy sickness, we can safely enjoy the first months, sleeping as usual, even if the prone position is always not recommended. If in doubt you can also ask the gynecologist for an opinion.
In the second quarter, up to the sixth month, the belly begins to show itself, even if not in an overwhelming way, and this can cause some problems in falling asleep and resting.
At this point there are two alternatives: sleeping on your back, or on your stomach (which is not the best position, however, because it can cause back pain) or on your side. In these months it is easy for us to start having some circulation problems, the legs tend to swell, and, if we can sleep on our back, we should start putting a pillow under our feet or raising the mattress, so that the head is supported. lower than the legs, thus allowing an improvement in peripheral circulation.
In the third trimester, sleeping well becomes complicated. The belly becomes increasingly bulky, the back becomes sore due to weight gain, and the baby often positions himself in a really uncomfortable position. It often happens that it presses on the bladder forcing the mother to go to the bathroom all the time, or on the liver, thus creating an annoying sensation.
The only possible position is often on the side, with the knees bent and a pillow to support the back. Again, the left flank is recommended, to prevent the liver from undergoing pressure.
How to face the ninth month
The last month is, without a doubt, the most complicated of all. The size of the belly is really important, the baby continues to move and the back discomfort can increase.
Also in this case, the position on the side must be kept. To make sure we don’t turn around in our sleep, we can help ourselves with pillows to put along the body. In addition, as the birth approaches, a mild form of anxiety and nocturnal restlessness can arise, causing us insomnia. If the extent of the problem is serious, we can contact a psychologist, who will help us on the path to childbirth, otherwise a good lemon balm herbal tea and some breathing exercises are enough, which is normally learned in the pre-birth course.
Accessories for sleep during pregnancy.
They are often used even after birth as an aid for breastfeeding: they allow, in fact, to support the newborn in the best way and, at the same time, to keep the mother in a very comfortable position.
Positions to avoid
The position that must be absolutely avoided in pregnancy is basically only one, the prone one.
Although, as already mentioned, the position in which you sleep on your stomach, perhaps with your arms under the pillow to support your head, is the most comfortable and the one that most favors falling asleep, is not recommended during a pregnancy, because even at the beginning of gestation it can lead to a crushing of the uterus. The supine one is also very uncomfortable, that is with the belly facing upwards, because with the crushing due to the belly, often and willingly, it causes back pain, hemorrhoids and pressure drops, also causes a reduction in venous blood flow thus risking to create problems for the child as well. To overcome this risk, it is sufficient to increase the number of cushions, thus allowing a semi-sitting position. Always remember to keep a pillow between your knees,
Do not be alarmed mothers, there is nothing to fear, neither for the baby nor for you.
Just follow these small steps, and you can rest peacefully and enjoy your pregnancy.
